Adapt or be disrupted, Ran Neu-Ner implores business at Innovation Summit

Business must adapt or risk being disrupted, marketer and Creative Council group Co-CEO Ran Neu-Ner, told delegates at a Cape Town conference.

Speaking at the Innovation Summit at the Cape Town Stadium which kicked off today and runs until Friday, Neu-Ner said all businesses will need to move away from what they presently define themselves as doing and move to become data firms — if they are to prosper in the future economy.

He singles out the example of a recent Nike’s sports app: “They got a 100 million users in three months because they started to say ‘we’re a data business that also sells sports wear’. Once you have data what will happen is you will realise what your consumers are doing,” he said.

Another trend he singled out is the increasing move in technology becoming invisible — for example with sensors in contact lenses to measure one’s blood sugar level or an app in the iPhone that measures the acidity of your sweat (which can prove useful for example for those that suffer from bipolar disorder).

All businesses will need to move to become data firms if they are to prosper in the future economy Ran Neu-Ner tells Innovation Summit delegates

Route to market is another area which is Neu-Ner said is being challenged. He singled out the example of a French designer furniture company that rents apartments and homes that are put on sale to use as showrooms to market their furniture. Those that decide to buy a home can then opt to buy the furniture on display together with their new home if they so choose to.

Another example is where US retailer Walmart spent $3.3-billion in September last year to acquire Jet.com, a then year-old web platform which allows you to make price savings if you opt out of returns policy or choose to pay by debit rather than credit card.

“Why did they (Walmart) do it? Because they realised that if they don’t they’re going to get disrupted. And if you get disrupted… you ain’t never coming back,” he said.

All this may be music to the ears of those startups with radical tech solutions. Established big companies should be worried.

Featured image: Creative Council group Co-CEO Ran Neu-Ner